Home energy audits in Richmond

Of Richmond's 46,950 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row houses and duplexes), 4% were built before 1961 and 49% before 1991, according to the 2021 Census. The typical Richmond house dates from 1991–1995, and an evaluation is how you find out what that means for yours: the blower door measures air leakage, the advisor inspects the attic, walls, basement, windows and heating system, and the report ranks upgrades by what they'd save.

Richmond gets about 2,768 heating degree-days a year, a measure of how much heating its climate needs, and its winter design temperature, the cold day heating systems are sized for, is −4.4°C. Those figures come from the climate data for Vancouver International in HOT2000, the home-energy software Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) gives energy advisors. That's the 5th-lowest heating demand of the 70 cities we cover. With winters this mild, an evaluation is as much about comfort, damp and planning a heat pump that also cools as it is about cutting the heating bill.

Richmond also gets hot spells and heat waves, so plan how the house will stay cool: air sealing, attic insulation and shading help, and a heat pump adds efficient cooling. Wildfire smoke reaches Richmond in some summers. The Government of Canada's advice is to keep windows and doors closed, limit exhaust fans and use the best filter your system can handle, so ask the advisor what your furnace or HRV can take.

In the Vancouver area, 32% of households heat mainly with a forced-air furnace, 31% with electric baseboards, 12% with a boiler and radiators and 5% with a heat pump; natural gas is the main heating energy for 42% of households and electricity for 39% (Statistics Canada, 2023). The heating system on the report shapes the recommendations: a forced-air furnace invites a ducted heat pump, electric baseboards a ductless one.

There's no provincial price list; the City of Nanaimo quotes $400–$500 as typical for an existing home. Several B.C. municipalities subsidize evaluations for their residents (see local programs below).

Most providers quote the initial (pre-upgrade) and follow-up (post-upgrade) visits separately. Rebate programs that pay on measured improvement need both, so ask for the combined price.

• Initial evaluation, about 2–3 hours. The advisor measures and inspects the house and runs the blower door test.
• Report and EnerGuide rating. You get the home's energy rating in gigajoules per year and a list of recommended upgrades with estimated savings.
• Do the work. Most rebate programs only count upgrades done after the initial evaluation.
• Follow-up evaluation. A second visit measures the improvement, which is what most rebates pay on.

Read the full guide to home energy audits.